The Most Beautiful Women in Golf Instruction

A couple weeks ago Golf.com released its 2015 version of The Most Beautiful Women in Golf. And a couple of those women featured were club professionals. Which got us to thinking: How about Most Beautiful Women in Golf Instruction?

It wasn't too long ago that a woman getting certified as and working as a golf instructor was a rarity. No longer. While men still far outnumber women among golf teachers, the industry now includes many women. These days, some of the best instructors in golf are women, and some of the best young instructors, too.

So below we present some (10, to be exact) of the most beautiful women currently working as teaching professionals. Our apologies to all the women we missed, and our thanks to all the women working as golf instructors today, helping grow the game and helping grow women's golf. (Note that the teaching professionals listed here appear in alphabetical order.)

Tasha Browner

PGA Director of Instruction at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California. tashabrownergolf.com

Skye Choueiri

Assistant golf professional at Manly Golf Club in Balgowlah, NSW, Australia. manlygolf.com.au

Chandra Hall

Head women's golf coach at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Also teaches (during offseason) at Bentwood Country Club in San Angelo. angelosports.com or bentwoodcc.com.

Meredith Kirk

Teaching professional, Blackmoor Golf Club in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. meredithkirk.com

Courtney Mahon

Lead Instructor at the Tour Striker Golf Academy in Chandler, Arizona. tourstriker.com

Maggie Noel

Teaching professional at GolfTec Westheimer in Houston, Texas. golftec.com

Shi Hyun Park

Teaching pro, Seoul, South Korea.

Annabel Rolley

Teaching pro, formerly at Royal Sydney Golf Club, Trump National Golf Club in New York, Royal Melbourne Golf Club and The Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. Now on Lesson Tee Live on Golf Channel.

Sara Stephens

Teaching professional at Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Andrew Stephens Golf Academy in Burlington, Kentucky. maketewah.com and AndrewStephensgolf.com

Christy Yun

PGA Teaching pro. Was at Gleneagles Country Club (Plano, Texas) with Chris Como Golf Academy, but recently moved to Arizona and plans to start her own golf instruction business there.

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Cara Robinson Latest to Join 'Morning Drive' Cast on Golf Channel

We told you a few weeks ago about Bailey Mosier and how she became a new Morning Drive host on Golf Channel.

But Golf Channel isn't finished introducing new Morning Drive hosts. And, beginning in late February, Cara Robinson joins the cast.

Robinson is English, and the Golf Channel announcement of her impending arrival on these shores states:

Robinson brings extensive experience in television and golf. She most recently served as host of Golfing World, a weekly program on Sky Sports – available to 20 million viewers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria – traveling to golf’s biggest events to conduct player interviews and features about all aspects of the game. She also participated in @TheOpenLIVE, a live digital telecast of the Open Championship, and has contributed as a studio host and reporter for productions surrounding Wimbledon, World’s Strongest Man, rugby and the London 2012 Olympics, where she hosted Sky Sports’ tennis coverage.

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Brooke Pancake's New Sponsor Is ... Waffle House

A few years back we were driving around the Deep South and, somehow, I managed to convince or cajole my wife into eating three consecutive meals at Waffle Houses. It's one of my proudest achievements. (Do I need loftier goals?)

You know who else loves Waffle House? Brooke Pancake. Sounds like a joke, but it isn't. And today both Waffle House and Brooke Pancake announced that the restaurant chain has become a sponsor of the golfer.

It's a match made in breakfast-served-all-day heaven.

When she posted the photo above to Instagram, Brooke wrote this along with it:

"What an exciting, fun day! And to think this all began when I announced on national television that I actually like waffles more than pancakes ... on National Pancake day #breakfast #AllStarspecial"

Brooke also shared a video on Instagram from her Waffle House photo shoot today:

And, of course, Waffle House got in on the social media fun:

In a press release titled "Pancake Comes To Waffle House Restaurants," the company says:

Before waffle-lovers the worldwide get upset, Waffle House is not changing its menu. Rather, Waffle House is excited to announce a partnership with LPGA rising star Brooke Pancake for the 2015 season.

"Growing up in Chattanooga, I've always been a Waffle House fan, "says Brooke Pancake. "And to be quite honest, I prefer waffles over pancakes anyway."

"This will be the first time that the Waffle Nation will be cheering for a Pancake," says Waffle House President and CEO Walt Ehmer. "Brooke exemplifies hard work, southern charm and a contagious personality which makes her a great representation of Waffle House."

As part of the partnership, Brooke will visit Waffle House restaurants along the tour and post stories from the road on social media.

Before turning pro, Brooke led the University of Alabama to the school's first national golf championship in 2012. She was named first team All-American and received the Honda Award as the nation's top collegiate golfer.

This calls for a celebration! Waffles for everyone, but especially for Pancake!

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Rebecca Lee-Bentham

(Photo by Anil Hanasoge/Courtesy of Rebecca Lee-Bentham)

Rebecca Lee-Bentham is only 22 years old, but she's already been a member of the LPGA Tour for three years. And 2015 will make it four - although she'll have to start the season with conditional status.

But Rebecca knows what to do about that. She told Golf Babes that her plans for the 2015 LPGA season start with "get(ing) into as many LPGA events as I can with my conditional status," and playing well enough that she can "hopefully reshuffle my way to full status by summer time."

If you're not familiar with the "reshuffle" process on the LPGA (other tours do the same thing), the thumbnail version is this: At the beginning of the year all tour members are ranked on a priority list that determines who gets into each tournament. But several times during a season, that priority list is "reshuffled" to take into account results to date. A golfer who is lower down the list can jump up it during a reshuffle, improving her chances of getting into more tournaments.

Lee-Bentham is Canadian, and among her most-treasured achievements in golf to date are winning the Canadian Junior in 2009 and the Canadian Amateur in 2010. Recently the Golf Canada website published an article about Rebecca titled "Lee-Bentham aiming for consistent results in 2015," which includes a quote about Rebecca from Lydia Ko. Lydia said this:

“I think Rebecca is a great player. What really impresses me about Rebecca is that she is one of the first players to come out to the course in practice and she is also one of the last ones to leave. She is a really hard working player. ...

“Rebecca has a great personality and whenever I see her, she has a smile on her face. Having confidence and also having fun are one of the most important parts of the game; and that’s what I try to work on too.”

Lee-Bentham, from Toronto, turned pro in 2011. She gained LPGA status for the 2012 season by medalling at Q-School. Her rookie season was an education, but she improved in 2013 by climbing to 80th on the money list. That season included an 11th-place showing at the Evian Championship.

Last year, Rebecca's best finish was 12th at the Marathon Classic.

"I want to focus on staying in the present; each tournament, each round, each shot," she told GolfCanada.ca. “I want to be able to say that I gave it all I got. That’s all I can really do, and the results in 2015 will take care of itself.”

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Meet Michelle Piyapattra, One of Golf.com's 'Most Beautiful Women in Golf' for 2015

Golf.com's Most Beautiful Women in Golf 2015 feature recently debuted, and one of the tour professionals included is Michelle Piyapattra. Don't know her? Don't worry, you soon will.

Michelle found out she was under consideration for the feature in that most modern and social way: she was contacted by a Golf.com representative on Facebook. One of Piyapattra's friends was included in the 2014 feature, so Michelle "was ecstatic to get the opportunity," she told us.

"I thought it would be good exposure and also a good experience since I have never done a photo shoot before," she said. Her very first photo shoot? You can bet it won't be her last.

You can see Michelle's photo shoot on Golf.com, and some of the photos are included in the following behind-the-scenes video about the shoot (the photos at the top and bottom of this post are screenshots from the video):



 

What are the highlights of Piyapattra's golf career to date? Although she's been a professional for only a few months, she already has a victory in a pro tournament. Playing as an amateur last May, Michelle won the Canadian Tour's 2014 season-opener in a playoff.

"One of my biggest wins other than the Canadian Tour is winning the Ivy League Championship my freshman year in college," Piyapattra said. "I won by 10 strokes and was only the second Columbia player to win the Ivy League Championship individually."

Michelle was named to the All-Ivy League team as a freshman, and again as a sophomore and as a senior. For her sophomore season, she won the conference's Player of the Year award. And following her final season, Piyapattra won Columbia's Connie S. Maniatty Award as the school's top senior athlete. She won six times total during her years on the Columbia golf team.

All that while carrying a double major in political science and anthropology. So you won't be surprised to learn she was valedictorian of her California high school.

What's next for Michelle Piyapattra? The coming year will be her first full season as a pro golfer. She fell one stroke shy of making it to last month's LPGA Q-School final, but advancing into the second stage did earn her status on the Symetra Tour for 2015. She'll be playing some Cactus Tour dates, too, as well as the Suncoast and Grasshopper tours.

"I will also be doing the Canadian Tour again as well as some LPGA Monday qualifiers," Michelle told us. "My main focus will be Symetra Tour and trying to earn my tour card."

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Nikki Garrett Wins ALPG's 2015 Opener

The Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) Tour just completed its first tournament of 2015, and the winner is Nikki Garrett. Garrett closed with a 5-under 68 to win the BWAC Regional and Community Services ALPG Pro-am. Garrett won by three shots over runner-up Rebecca Codd.

It caps off quite a trifecta for Garrett: She recently got engaged, had a birthday one day before the tournament's final round, and then won the tournament!

This is a significant step for Garrett, who hadn't won anywhere since 2007. That year, she claimed wins in back-to-back weeks on the Ladies European Tour, and appeared poised to become a star in the golf world. Alas, problems with her driver were soon holding her back. But Garrett told reporters at the tournament today that her driving is much improved. The ALPG website story includes this:

Nikki’s struggles off the tee with her driver have been well documented in recent years and she credited her move to Brisbane earlier this year with now fiancé Frank Barrett to her improved form.

“Lots of things have fallen into place since I moved to Brisbane last year.” She credited physiotherapist Sean Fyfe for the work they have done together on her strength and stability.

’Sean picked up that I was weak in some areas, especially through the hips. The hips have always been an issue in my swing and once I started seeing results and feeling stronger I started to feel more comfortable with the driver. I played much better this year in Europe than I have done in previous years, from the middle of the year I felt that I wasn’t far away from another good week.

Congrats, Nikki, great to see you back in the winner's circle.

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